Pas de cette Terre

A human-like alien leaves his dying planet to secure earthling blood that his planet needs.

Too bad Corman didn't dump that flying lampshade that apparently sucks the doc's blood. Because that's really the only cheezy element of this otherwise effective monster flick. It's arguably Corman's best. Birch is pretty scary with his deadpan face and perfectly parsed diction. Just don't ask him to take off his glasses. Then too, I wonder what he puts down as eye color. Plus I would give dear Beverly Garland a drive-in Oscar for her sparkly portrayal of nurse Storey. It's a performance far and above the call of a paycheck.

Yes indeed, what I remember from my first viewing decades ago is Dick Miller's vacuum salesman. He's so pesky and obnoxious, horns honked all over the drive-in when he got his. And what about the teen-age cutie who opens the film, even if she doesn't stick around. Too bad. Anyway, Corman sure knew his audience since we boys were hooked right then. Nonetheless, for the less hormonally minded, there's a message in the alien madness-- better watch out earthlings, nuclear war can cause a calamity that only a steady stream of blood can help.

Okay, so the movie's not exactly Oscar bait. Nonetheless, it's got a better-than-usual Corman script, plus good location staging that keep the usual hokey sets to a minimum. Yes indeed, it's still fun to track the Darvana alien, and maybe honk your horn when Miller gets his.

Actually went to see "Attack of the Crab Monsters" but this was much better. The entire movie had a dark quality to it, like you were looking thru Paul birch's very cool wraparound shades (or maybe the theater needed a new projection bulb/ carbon arc light- no, "Crab Monsters" was OK..) The bat creature, as I remember it, was like a small webbed-between-it's-tentacles octopus that did an amazing skull crush. I was usually inured to a lot of those creatures, but I had nightmares for days after that thing. Beverly Garland always added to any movie, and I think from her output of films, she just lived on the sets. So where is it, Roger!!! We want to see it, and I don't think it's ever been on tape or dvd

I remember seeing this in the early 1970's on Bob Wilkins' Creature Feature on Channel Two from Oakland.

A good movie with a dark, scary atmosphere.

The part I found most unnerving was where the alien takes his sun glasses off, looks at a passing passenger aircraft with his "Man With The X-Ray Eyes" type eyes, causing the aircraft to explode in mid-air, killing all aboard.

I notice that it is not available on DVD or VHS. Too bad. Hope it is released soon.

If anyone knows where I can get a copy of this on DVD/Laser Disc/ or VHS, please let me know.

One of Corman's most unusual and entertaining features from the 50s. Rubber monsters are totally extraneous to the menace of (the excellent) Paul Birch as the sunglass-wearing alien from Davana who puts a scare in sexy nurse Beverly Garland! Bev hams it up in a slick one-piece for John Haze's amusement and Dick Miller drops by in an excellent bit as a VERY annoying vacuum salesman. The audience mightn't have minded when he died, and here is one of the earliest examples of Corman's very influential use of comedy/horror. Very good script was adapted almost word for word in some scenes for the 80s version -- a tribute to Griffith's skill as a writer of such glib dialogue. A bit more effective production would have helped, but we all know how Corman likes to pinch a penny.

This is a truly great, almost unknown B-movie -- why doesn't someone get their hands on a print and put it out on DVD and video again? I had to go to the best video store in San Francisco to find it anywhere in the whole bay area. I don't think it's currently in circulation, and it's very hard to find a copy. Thus, not many people know about the original version of this great flick (which features vampire blood fetishism in the context of alien invaders! I mean, how could you go wrong?). The remake was good, but not as good as the original. I think Allied distributed this for Corman, so there should be prints floating around somewhere, so let's hope a nice one pops up on DVD soon.

Evil, blood-sucking alien (like there's another kind in Corman's universe?) Paul Birch is draining the citizenry of L.A. to save not only himself but the dying planet Davanna in this creepy Corman classic. When nurse Bev Garland and her not-too-imaginative cop boyfriend discover what Birch is up to, the fun really gets going: foot chases, car chases, fiery crashes - in short, the works. Even though there's something for almost everybody in this little gem (except spaceships; sorry, all you hardware freaks), "Not of this Earth" remains one of the very few Corman films that has never been released on either VHS or DVD. Supposedly, the reason for this is that Corman himself wasn't satisfied with the finished product; hence, at least two remakes, or, three if you count the stupendously awful "Star Portal." As is typical in Corman films, the budget was very tiny; so tiny, in fact, that the only piece of the original, lavish "dimensional warp chamber" to survive fiscal reality was the multi-orbed thingamajig at the very top of the otherwise spartan black chamber. Too bad. The word is that the original design by Paul Blaisdell was pretty impressive. Well, for a low-budget B/W 1957 thriller, anyway. So, while a lot of money does not necessarily a hit film make (witness "Alexander"), it doesn't really hurt, either. Bottom line: don't pay too much attention to the, er, lean FX, such as the deadly lampshade bug. The story isn't bad, the acting is, for the most part, okay (although the three bums are laughable), and you actually feel some pity toward the end for Birch and his ilk. If you can find this one, go for it. Believe us, there's A LOT worse out there